Last year, Purdue University engineers used their knowledge of materials science to produce the whitest paint in the world. able to reflect about 98% of the incident sunlight.
This paint has great potential for energy efficiency in buildings, as they heat up much less in summer and therefore require less energy to cool. In short: less air conditioning hours.
The team did some changes in the recipe and production of a thinner and lighter versionwhich is ideal for use in cars, trains and airplanes. And although the car electric usually white for efficiency reasons such as Polestar or Teslathis goal goes further.
Original version The ultra-white paint owes its superior ability to reflect sunlight to the inclusion of barium sulfate.a chemical compound used in photographic paper and cosmetics.
This compound was added to the mixture in the form of particles of different sizes with different light scattering abilities, which allowed the paint to reflect a large part of the spectrum of incident sunlight. And that’s great news for automobile electric.
With a reflectivity of 98.1%, the material far exceeds the reflectivity of commercially available reflective paints.which have a reflectivity of 80 to 90%.
In tests carried out on external surfaces, the team found that the paint can significantly reduce their temperature compared to their surroundings and can produce a cooling effect similar to that of conventional air conditioners. But this layer of paint was very thick.
A new recipe that allows it to be used in cars, will Tesla be the first?
So the team came up with a new recipe. The new material contains boron nitride in the form of hexagonal nanoplates and delivers a 97.9% sunlight reflectance, slightly less than the original, but does so in layers as thin as 150 microns. (one third of the original).
This new paint is not only better, but also lower density and therefore weighs approximately 80% less.
The scientists say they are currently in talks to commercialize their paint. and having patented the technology, they are delighted with its capabilities. Electric vehicles such as Tesla lose a lot of energy, for example, due to the cooling of the car interior.
Source: Computer Hoy
